World’s fastest maglev system in the works

We all know that the Japanese have some crazy fast trains already, pioneering the magical bullet train as this popular mode of public transport carries people to and from work every day by the thousands in a fast, safe and efficient manner. Somehow, there is something inside us humans that make us want to improve always, so it is no surprise that Japanese rail operator Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) recently announced that it will be constructing the fastest maglev system in the world, boasting a maximum running speed of 310mph (500km/h) that will run along a 180-mile (290km) track between Tokyo and central Japan.

The project has a…er, projected completed date of 2025, with the total cost ballooning to $44.7 billion in all. JR Central has not yet confirmed the final destination, although initial reports have suggested that the “first phase” will be between Tokyo and the central industrial city of Nagoya, with plans for a later extension to Osaka. The new maglev will eventually replace Japan’s bullet trains, and it will also overtake China’s commercially-operative example that zips by at a comfortable 267mph (430km/h).

2025 is still a long way off, so if you want to get a semblance of just how fast things things are currently, why not hop on to China where they already have a 190mph bullet train that will reduce journey times from 80 to 30 minutes on 71-mile (115km) Beijing-Tianjin route. This bullet train is tipped to enter service before the Olympics kick off in August later this year. According to Wang Yongping, a Ministry of Railways spokesman, the streamlined aluminum alloy train is the “lightest of its kind in the world”. Here’s a little trivia – Japan, France, Germany and China all have high speed trains to ferry their people across great distances within the shortest time possible in the most economical manner.